Is The ‘Hustlers’ Movie Based On A True Story?

The much-anticipated crime dramedy “Hustlers,” which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival last week and currently sits at an 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, will finally be available for public viewing on Friday when it hits theaters all over the United States.

The 2019 film follows a crew of former strip club employees working together to swindle money from some of their Wall Street clients. The star-powered ensemble cast includes Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo, Mercedes Ruehl, Cardi B, Madeline Brewer, Trace Lysette and Mette Towley.

Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, “Hustlers” is based on a true story about four women and a man indicted for allegedly scamming men at New York City clubs out of thousands of dollars by supposedly drugging them and using their credit cards.

Instead of using just all of the court documents from the case, the film’s mainly inspired by Jessica Pressler’s December 2015 New York Magazine article about the events, “The Hustlers at Scores.”

By focusing on the article, Scaferia told TIME she was better able to showcase the friendship between the group’s two ringleaders, Roselyn “Rosie” Keo (Wu’s Destiny in the movie) and Samantha Foxx aka Barbash (Lopez’s Ramona in the film).

Plus, she was able to place viewers inside of the movie, closer to the action, with the use of a reporter character based on Pressler (played by Stiles, whose character’s name is Elizabeth).

“There’s a responsibility to the truth and what really happened,” Scafaria told TIME, “and it’s not a black and white story, after all.”

See how the real events have been adapted for the screen when STX Films’ “Hustlers” dances into theaters on Friday.